Police: 2 Pakistani Taliban commanders killed in northwest

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistani police say they have killed two militant commanders in the country’s northwest. Security forces have increased operations against militants after a surge in violence by the Pakistani Taliban, or TTP, particularly in the northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. A regional police officer said Saturday the slain fighters were wanted in connection with the killing of five police officers and were also involved in attacks on security checkpoints. The government had a bounty of $7,259 on the two men. The operation came days after a suicide bomber attacked a mosque within a police and government compound in the city of Peshawar, the provincial capital, killing 101 people.